A Week at the office AU Klaine fic
by sadyshea
Summary: Blaine is a intern at the New York time and Kurt is a fashion columnist, what happens when they turn out to be cubicle neighbors? A week in the life of Klaine as they work in an office. / Klaine


Monday

Blaine sat at his computer desk, slaving away at a proposal for his next research article; being an intern for the New York Times put a lot of pressure on his shoulders. Thankfully, he usually had a pretty cool demeanor, so as long as he had his coffee, he was going to be able to work through this.

Unfortunately, this particular morning, he had missed his coffee and the entire office was going to pay for it. Especially the guy in the next cubicle over, the bubbly fashion consultant with a flair for the obnoxious. His name was Kurt Hummel and right now, he was the bane of Blaine's existence.

The worst part is that Blaine couldn't say a damn thing to get the fashionista to shut up because Kurt was, in fact, Blaine's superior. He had a successful weekly fashion column and was an asset to the Newspaper. On top of everything else, Kurt's desk was heaped with a mountain of fruity mentos packages. It made the desk look like a total pigsty but Kurt didn't seem too concerned about it. If Blaine were to file a complaint, he would run the risk of losing the internship.

So, he grinded his teeth and continued on with his work, trying desperately to drown out Kurt's lively and distracting conversation he was having on the phone.

When Blaine left for lunch, he made sure to give Kurt a dirty look because of all the pain the guy had put him through.

But, after Blaine returned from his lunch, he saw a cup of piping hot Starbuck blond blend on his cubicle desk. He sat down, absolutely perplexed by it's presence.

As he looked closer, he saw a message scrawled across the side:

_Sorry for distracting you. I thought I could make it up to you by supplying you with the coffee you missed this morning! _

_-K_

Blaine was floored. It took him a few moments to gain up the courage but when he looked over the side of the cubicle to thank Kurt, the porcelain man was nowhere to be seen.

Tuesday

Kurt walked into the office like he owned the place as usual. Blaine was already at his desk when the columnist arrive. The intern began to blush like made, at a loss for what to say to the older guy.

"Morning, Kurt." He blurted in an oddly pitched voice.

Blaine hoped that Kurt hadn't heard the atrocity of a greeting. But to his dismay, Kurt turned around sharply and flashed him a toothy smile.

"You know my name. I thought I was being allusive when I wrote the message on the coffee cup, but, that's okay. Again, I'm really sorry about yesterday…" Kurt apologized, hovering over Blaine's desk.

"Oh, it's f-fine, really. It wasn't that big of a deal." Blaine answered, as steadily as he could manage.

Kurt raised a perfectly waxed eyebrow and chuckled, "Judging from the death glares you were giving me the entire day, I beg to differ."

Blaine winced slightly but when he saw that Kurt really wasn't being hostile at all, he relaxed enough to reply, "I have a temper, and I missed my coffee, and I was behind all day on my writing. I just couldn't get in the zone at all and that is not your fault. I need to get used to writing in an office environment where people will be talking and bustling about. They're just doing their jobs and I have to remind myself of that. You were doing your job."

That's when it was Kurt's turn to feel guilty.

"Actually, I wasn't working at all, I was on the phone with my girlfriend, Rachel, from back at home. It wasn't business at all and it's totally unlike me, being all unprofessional like that." Kurt apologized.

The only word that Blaine had followed in the entire apology was the word 'girlfriend'. He was utterly confused. "Girlfriend?"

He regretted it the moment the question passed through his lips. _Why did he even ask? Was the inquiry out of simple curiosity or a pang of jealousy? What was going on for Blaine? Was he seriously crushing on a stranger that he had practically loathed the day before?_

"Girl that is a friend. I didn't think I would need to clarify." Kurt teased and Blaine was just embarrassed by his lack of filter.

"Oh, uh, sorry…." Blaine muttered, feeling like a total ass.

Kurt smiled sympathetically at Blaine. "If you don't mind me asking, what's my cubicle neighbor's name?"

"Blaine. Blaine Anderson." Blaine answered, the end of his lips turning up into a little half smile at Kurt's inquiry.

Kurt looked thoughtful for a moment before evaluating, "I would've pegged you for a Chase, or a… Darren or something."

Blaine laughed at the quirky thought. "Nope, it's Blaine. Always has been, always will be."

"Good. Don't change a thing." Kurt stated before sitting down at his own desk.

The conversation was over but Blaine couldn't help but continue to watch Kurt out of his periphery. He was very discrete about it (or so he thought). He was enthralled by how particular Kurt was about chewing on his nails, or his pencil, or a Mentos. He popped the little candies back like they were an addiction, which Blaine determined, they might just be.

It took a while for Blaine to finally concentrate on his own work and even when he did, his thoughts occasionally drifted back to Kurt's adorable face and demeanor.

When Kurt was ready to leave, Blaine was still tapping away at his keyboard. He didn't want to interrupt but after he collected his things and tried to sneak by, Blaine caught his eye.

Kurt's breath hitched slight, frozen in the spot by the young intern. Unsure of how to escape the situation with any grace, he twiddled his fingers at Blaine and then sped away toward the elevator.

Blaine was perplexed by the exchange but also inspired. He had the perfect plan to pay back Kurt for his surprise of the coffee.

Wednesday

Kurt walked into the office on Wednesday morning in a dreary state. He was beyond hung-over; he was possibly even still a little bit drunk. He tossed his Louis Vuitton side bag down on his desk and slumped down in his rolley chair. He cranked the back of the chair as far back as it could go and closed his eyes.

"Kurt…?" Someone asked and woke him from his daze.

It was one of his coworkers who he honestly couldn't remember the name of. That meant she probably wasn't that important. He almost closed his eyes again when he noticed she was pointing at something.

Every inch of Kurt's desk was covered with an assortment of Mentos: root beer flavored, to rainbow, to the classic mint, to strawberry, to green apple and of course, Kurt's favorite, the fruit assortment.

For a second, Kurt thought he was being pranked but when he looked at how carefully the packages had been placed, he knew it had been done out of appreciation.

Kurt put his hands on the separator and made eye contact with a very nervous Blaine. Kurt knew immediately that Blaine was the kind culprit.

"You're amazing. All I did was by you a coffee… this is… too much." Kurt muttered, totally enthralled with his neighbor.

Blaine smiled up at Kurt, unsure exactly how to respond to the columnist. He honestly didn't want to come off as creepy but he also wanted Kurt to know how appreciative he was at the same time.

Blaine settled for a simple shrug, "It's no big thing. I used to work at a party shop; we used to do stuff like this all the time. For proposals and such."

Kurt smirked at this. "So… this is a proposal, Mr. Anderson? Why, how forward of you!"

Blaine sputtered at Kurt's response and just to torture the intern some more, Kurt kept his face very serious. Blaine was blushing madly. "I didn't… That's not what I… I only meant to…"

Poor Blaine was in utter turmoil until Kurt lost it again, falling into a fit of laughter.

"I was kidding, Anderson, don't get your boxer-briefs in a bunch." Kurt teased, rolling his eyes for dramatic effect.

Blaine's breath hitched at this.

"Oh! I so called it; I kind of have a talent for determining people's undergarment types. The girl who woke me up… total granny panty sporter. It is bah-hah-adddd news!" Kurt explained, clapping his hands in glee at his successful classing of Blaine's underwear.

"Are you always so…"

"Fabulous?"

"I was going to say… erratic, but to each their own." Blaine clarified, suddenly becoming a bit banterous.

"I'm going to take that as a compliment." Kurt retorted, sitting back down at his desk.

"Exactly how I intended." Blaine responded, finally catching on to how Kurt liked to hold conversations.

They always had to be quick, witty and if you got even a little behind, Kurt got the upper hand. And for Blaine's sake, that was probably never a good thing.

The rest of Blaine's workday was spent watching Kurt munch on Mentos and Kurt's was spent surfing random fashion blogs while simultaneously Internet stalking Blaine Anderson.

Blaine surprisingly got up to leave first. Kurt had gotten so lost in his off-track Internet searches that he was behind on his to-do list for the day. This meant spending an extra two hours in the office but Kurt didn't actually mind with the comfort of his Mentos surrounding him.

"You're heading out early." Kurt stated, raising an eyebrow.

"I am, I'm meeting up with two friends from high school for drinks. It should be an interesting evening." Blaine responded, slipping his side bag's strap over his shoulder.

Kurt smiled understandingly and then greeted, "Well, Happy Hump day to you, Anderson!"

"Excuse me?" Blaine stammered, hoping he heard Kurt completely wrong.

"Maybe you didn't hear me right. Happy Hump Day to you, Blaine!" Kurt repeated, grinning wickedly at the incredulous intern.

Blaine's jaw dropped. He _had_ heard the impish columnist correctly.

"You mean that in a totally sexual way, don't you?" Blaine determined, at a loss to be able to comprehend Kurt any longer.

"Always." Kurt answered flippantly.

Blaine sighed and rolled his eyes. "Good night, Kurt."

Kurt did want to end off the day on a genuine note, as much as he enjoyed putting Blaine through the torture. "Have fun with your friends, and thank you for the Mentos collage."

Hearing the always-joking Kurt thank him honestly meant the world to Blaine. Maybe Kurt didn't just think of him as a stupid young intern, maybe he actually wanted to be Blaine's friend. The thought of that made a smile spread across Blaine's lips.

Kurt couldn't help but join along as Blaine smiled at his greeting. Blaine really was gorgeous when he didn't look like a kicked puppy (not that that wasn't adorable).

"You're welcome. Night. Again." Blaine muttered, before he turned to leave the office.

"Night…" Kurt whispered.

He knew it was going to be hard to concentrate on his research and writing when he had the image of Blaine sporting boxer-briefs linger in his mind. _Not that he minded…_

Thursday

It was Blaine's turn to come into the office with a hangover. He had had a wild night out with Jeff and Nick, club and bar hopping until four AM. He trudged into the office, bags weighing down his eyes.

"Good morning, Sunshine!" Kurt greeted, popping his little head over the cubicle divider.

Blaine winced at Kurt's cheery tone, rubbing his temples. Kurt saw that Blaine really was in pain so he disappeared back into his cubicle and resurfaced with a pair of sunglasses.

"Try these." Kurt advised with his hand outstretched toward Blaine.

Blaine looked skeptically at the pair of glasses but then decided he might as well try them. As soon as he placed Kurt's sunglasses over the bridge of his nose, he felt the pain behind his eyes die down significantly. "Thank you…"

"I guess you had a fun time last night." Kurt assumed, a playful aspect to his voice. He watched in amusement as Blaine slowly lowered his head down onto his desk.

"Mhmmmm…" Blaine responded by mumbling into his arms that he was leaning his head onto.

Kurt smirked at the intern who clearly was in dire need of a pick-me-up. The columnist quickly skittered away into the kitchen part of the office and found a stray red bull in the fridge. It wasn't coffee but for right now, it was going to have to suffice. Kurt didn't usually support the use of energy drinks but in Blaine's case, he needed all the help that he could get.

As Kurt walked up behind Blaine, he noticed that Blaine's usually perfectly coiffed raven hair was out of place. This just wouldn't do. Kurt placed the Redbull down onto Blaine's desk and gently maneuvered the pieces of Blaine's stray hair back into place.

That's when Kurt realized it was the first time he had ever touched Blaine. And then he giggled because that sort of sounded dirty. But then he realized he was a grown man and he needed to pull himself together.

Blaine turned his head toward Kurt and smile appreciatively. He saw a look on Kurt that he didn't recognize… was Kurt feeling unsure of himself?

Blaine was glad he caught the momentary vulnerability that Kurt had displayed for it made him feel like he knew something that the rest of their work colleagues didn't.

"You couldn't help yourself, could you?" Blaine accused, sitting up in his chair, Kurt's glasses askew on his face.

Kurt laughed at how outrageous Blaine looked like with the Gucci bug glasses on.

_He really should go for more of an aviator style, _Kurt thought and then snapped himself out of his nervous fashion evaluation habit.

"No, it's kind of a compulsion of mine. I'm a bit of a perfectionist." Kurt admitted, sheepishly.

Blaine looked over Kurt's outfit and saw that every last aspect of it was flawlessly arranged. He didn't have a doubt in his mind that Kurt planned out the outfits days in advance.

"I can see that." He teased, grinning at Kurt.

He could feel that the glasses were off center on his face and he relished in watching Kurt fight with himself about whether to fix them or not. Kurt was biting his well-conditioned lip; it was totally adorable and even made Blaine feel a little bit better about his hangover stupor.

"Kurt, don't hurt yourself, just fix the glasses." Blaine prompted.

With Blaine's permission, Kurt pounced on the opportunity. He crouched down and took hold off the glasses. He gently readjusted them but was surprised to see that Blaine actually shivered at the seemingly casual touch.

But, for some reason, it somehow felt much more intimate now.

Kurt's nervous breath danced along Blaine's cheek. Blaine watched Kurt's emerald colored eye shift, trying to evaluate what exactly was going on between the two of them.

Neither of them moved for a good thirty seconds, but they both were freaking out internally. They were practically strangers.

_How could they be so damn attracted to someone they had essentially just met? Because this wasn't only about how gorgeous they thought each other were, it was about how comfortable they felt around each other after only three days of acknowledging each other's existence. It just… worked._

Kurt's phone buzzed and they were instantly broken from their bizarrely intense moment.

"I'm, er… I should take this." Kurt murmured apologetically, still staring into Blaine's eyes.

Blaine gestured passively for Kurt to 'go for it'. Kurt smiled appreciatively, stood to his feet, and picked up the call.

"Oh hey, Rach. Look, I'm kind of at work… and-"

Blaine watched, intrigued by the conversation until his eyes fell upon the Red Bull.

_What angel had sent him such an energy savior? _The answer to his own question arrived in his head seconds later: Kurt, of course.

The dark haired intern mouthed 'thank you' to Kurt who gave him a wink in response. Blain blushed fiercely before popping open the tab on the energy drink.

As he glugged back the drink, Kurt's eyes were glued on the nape of his neck. _How Kurt would love to hear Blaine's moan as he kissed that gorgeous neck…_

Kurt's iPhone slipped through his fingers, as he got lost in the fantasy. Thankfully, Blaine had reflexes of a hawk so he caught it easily after slamming down the empty can of Red Bull.

"A perfectionist and a klutz. I love adding new things to the list of 'Facts I know about Kurt Hummel'." Blaine teased and embarrassed, Kurt snatched the phone back from Blaine's grasp.

But then Kurt realized that he had never told Blaine his last name. Now it was turn to embarrass the hell out of Blaine.

"Rach, I've got to go. I'll call you back later." Kurt muttered before ending the call.

Blaine gave Kurt a confused look before Kurt stated, "You Internet stalked me, didn't you!"

"Ha-ha, no. I just read your article, like I read every other article in every day's paper." Blaine responded.

Kurt was gravely disappointed by the nonchalance of Blaine's reaction. He practically pouted.

"I guess that's not what you wanted to hear…" Blaine muttered, amused by Kurt's disappointment.

Once Kurt got over himself, he registered what Blaine had actually admitted. "Wait, back up a second. You read every single article in the New York Times… every day?"

Blaine suddenly felt very self-conscious about the confession he had made. But, when he looked at Kurt and saw that he was more intrigued than judgmental, he shrugged modestly. "It's a habit. After a long day of work, it helps me unwind, y'know?"

"Totally. I read every issue of Vogue like it's the Bible. I even read the fine print in the advertisements. So, you are not alone." Kurt responded.

Blaine was comforted by Kurt's similar admission. He suddenly found himself wanting to know more and more about his cubicle neighbor. Kurt was like an open book that made Blaine quiver with curiosity. The intern's head swirled with questions and intrigue.

He decided to take a chance and ask Kurt out for coffee (just as friends, of course):"Hey, this might be totally, random and I don't even know if you're interested but maybe-"

"Kurt. I need that article by three o'clock and you're standing around flirting with an intern, are you kidding me?" Jessica Larson, the editor of the Lifestyle section, snapped. Her brow was furrowed and while Blaine didn't know her very well, he did know that she wasn't to be messed with.

Kurt's reaction was calm and collected; he was the absolute air of professionalism. "Oh, I'm sorry, Jessica. I got a little sidetracked helping out my friend here with his hangover but don't worry, the article will be done. I promise you."

With a satisfied sneer, she flipped her blond hair and sashayed away from their desks.

Kurt quickly scrambled to his desk, but not without exchanging an amused glance with Blaine. "Sorry- what were you going to ask me before we were rudely interrupted?"

Blaine shrugged nervously, not wanting to distract Kurt any further. "It was nothing important, don't worry about it. You better get back to work."

Kurt smiled at the younger intern appreciatively before beginning to madly type away at his article.

Blaine sighed to himself, regretting even thinking about asking Kurt out. They were co-workers that helped each other get through a day at the office by amusing each other every so often. That's all it was, nothing more.

A couple of hours later, it was lunchtime and Kurt invited Blaine to join him for some coffee. Not wanting to encourage his attraction to Kurt to increase any further, Blaine politely declined. He needed to get his priorities in order as well as the reality of the situation.

Blaine worked straight through lunch and was pleasantly surprised when Kurt brought him back a macadamia nut cookie from the coffee shop.

They worked silently until the end of their work shift, both of them stealing glances at each other every so often.

When Blaine had checked everything off of his to-do list, he began to pack up his things. He looked over to Kurt's desk and saw that the columnist was packing up as well.

Blaine panicked because he didn't want to have to endure the elevator ride as well as a possible trip on the subway together, so he immediately sat back down in his seat and pretended to work on something.

When Kurt was ready to go, he walked over to Blaine's desk and saw that he was still working. "Still not done? How much do they have you do?"

"Hangovers make me work at about half the rate I usually do… so I'm a bit behind." Blaine muttered, lying through his teeth.

"Oh, well, then I won't interrupt. Have a good evening and I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Kurt said, flashing his heartwarming grin at Blaine.

"Night!" Blaine answered quickly before turning back to his computer screen.

Kurt was taken aback by Blaine's hasty goodbye, but he walked away from the desk anyway. Blaine clearly wanted him out of his hair, and while Kurt was a bit hurt by this, he would have to respect Blaine's need for solitude.

As soon as Kurt walked away, Blaine bit his tongue in regret. _Why did he have to get so weird all the time? Kurt was basically all he could think about. _

His eyes lingered on the empty can of Red Bull that Kurt had given him. He sighed, wishing he had never started talking to Kurt. It was just too damn complicated; so many things could change in just a couple days….

Friday

Neither Blaine nor Kurt arrived to work until late afternoon. They barely acknowledged each other's arrival and spent most of the workday distracting themselves from each other by diving into their prospective duties.

But, sometimes distraction can't even help rid the inevitable thoughts about each other. By four o'clock, Kurt was absolutely losing it. He desperately wanted to talk to Blaine and figure out what was going on for the intern and maybe even discuss what was going on between the two of them…

"Blaine. We're going for coffee and we're going to talk through this." Kurt demanded, peering over the cubicle divider like the nosy neighbor he was. "Tell me when you're done your work."

Blaine didn't know how to react so he just gaped at Kurt until the columnist disappeared back into the confines of his own cubicle. He wanted to object, because that was his right but at the same time, he didn't want to. Kurt Hummel had essentially just asked him out, whether it was on friendly terms or something more, Blaine didn't care.

They were going to talk and maybe, just maybe, things were going to work out between them.

When the clock struck five, Blaine typed the last word of his article before submitting it to his supervisor. He had been so lost in his work that he had almost forgotten about Kurt's invitation.

Blaine jumped to his feet and padded over to Kurt's side of the desk where he found Kurt snoring softly. Kurt looked both adorable and peaceful, Blaine didn't want to wake him. But, at the same time, he still wanted to go out for coffee.

He crouched down and lightly poked Kurt in the nose. Kurt's eyelids fluttered opened like a princess waking up because of a true love's kiss. The thought made Blaine giggle with anticipation.

"Hey, you." Kurt murmured, his face breaking into a delighted smile.

A rush of relief and comfort ran through Blaine. "Hey. Ready to go?"

Kurt quickly collected his things and they set off for the nearest Starbucks. The walk there was quiet but still comfortable. They enjoyed each other's silence immensely. There was a bit of tension in the air but both of them were hopeful that it would soon be resolved over their piping hot cups of brew.

Blaine ordered a Grande non-fat white mocha with hazelnut and Kurt ordered a Grande American misto with vanilla. Blaine insisted on paying.

"Are you always such a gentleman?" Kurt asked, as they waited for the Barista to finish their drinks.

"Well, I was brought up pretty traditionally, so, I guess so." Blaine explained as their drinks arrived.

They both took their prospective cups and searched out a table. They found one tucked into an intimate corner and sat down in the chairs across from each other.

"Not to be forward, but, what was going on for you at the end of yesterday?" Kurt inquired, taking a sip of his coffee.

Blaine hesitated but realized he didn't have anything to lose by being honest with Kurt. "I guess I just am a bit confused about what's going on between us."

Kurt smiled understandingly. "We're friends and coworkers who clearly get along really well. And I'm not going to speak for anyone but myself, but I definitely have a little bit of a crush on you."

Blaine blushed deeply at Kurt's evaluation of their situation.

_Their situation, what a nice thought, _Blaine accessed.

"It's not unrequited." Blaine murmured flirtatiously.

"Oh, I'm glad."

"I'm glad you're glad."

"So… where do we go from here?"

"I think we just start _here._"

"Deal."

Kurt walked his fingers across the table and gently took Blaine's hand in his. He stroked his thumb across Blaine's palm and Blaine relaxed at his co-worker's touch.

It was a small promise that while it was casual, it was still something. Kurt cared about him and Blaine felt the exact same way.

_Blaine couldn't wait for work on Monday._


End file.
